Abstract

As the title suggests, two Croatian authors Antun Šoljan and Ratko Cvetnić will be analyzed comparatively regarding the same title Short Excursion (Kratki izlet). The main assumption is that the same title couldn’t be a mistake. Cvetnić must have wanted to refer to his antecedent / forerunner. The function of this work is to explore the links between the two books, structural and thematic similarities and justify usage of the same title. The main point of this work is on a problematic Balkan entity and its recurring history, that's why both texts have been analyzed as a Balkans discourse. Similarities between both books have been pointed out, as well as shown how a literature critic of the first book could easily be applied to the second book. Both books appear to act upon one another, and a literary field opens up: Šoljan's text forms a preface for understanding Cvetnić, while Cvetnić's text is offering a new perspective for the interpretation of Šoljan's text – for that reason both books are also analyzed separately. Both books – Short Excursions form a simulacrum of passive Croatian society, representing the older and the younger generation troubled with the same problems, while as the time passes nothing changes. As history always repeats itself here in the Balkans, literature always rewrites the same story. It seems that Cvetnić deconstructed Šoljan’s Short Excursion, and actualized it in a time of war in the 90’s.